(yumacs.com)The Yeshiva University men’s volleyball team came back from two-sets down to earn a thrilling Skyline victory in five games over College of Mount Saint Vincent, at Max Stern Athletic Center, on Tuesday evening. Set scores were 20-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, and 15-13.
“We knew coming into this game it was a must win,” Senior Alon Jakubowitz said. “Going down 2-0 wasn’t easy, but we knew the match wasn’t over. We all bought in to fight back one point at a time. The team has been working hard at practice every day and it clearly showed in our hard-fought victory.”
Jakubowitz sparked the comeback with 17 kills, four blocks, a pair of service aces, and just as many digs. Senior Amitai Kolom tallied nine kills with three digs, two aces and a block. Classmate Benjamin Smillie recorded six kills and a team-best 12 digs. Senior Benjamin Goldstein led all players with 24 assists, while adding three digs and two kills.
After dropping the first two sets in narrow fashion, the Maccabees (2-3, 1-2 Skyline) came storming back in the third stanza by going on an 11-2 run to take a commanding 19-9 hold. The highlights of YU’s blitz were a pair of kills from Kolom and an ace and a kill courtesy of Jakubowitz. The Dolphins (2-7, 2-2 Skyline) chipped away and cut YU’s advantage to 20-15. However, Jakubowitz’s successful attack capped off three straight points for his team to put the Maccabees back up by eight. After Mount Saint Vincent scored the next point, Jakubowitz closed the set with back-to-back kills to clinch the game for YU and pull the home team to within 2-1 in the match.
The Maccabees and Dolphins exchanged rallies throughout the fourth set. With the stanza even at 20 points apiece, Jakubowitz scored two straight kills, as part of three unanswered points, to propel YU to a 23-20 benefit, much to the delight of the raucous Max Stern Athletic Center crowd. Mount Saint Vincent scored the next point but then committed back-to-back errors to clinch the fourth set for YU and force the fifth and deciding game.
The Macs’ momentum carried over into the rubber set as a pair of kills by Kolom, and successful attacks by junior Shmuel Aberman, Jakubowitz and Goldstein propelled YU to an 8-3 advantage. CMSV would not go down easily as the Dolphins scored four of the next five points to deflate Yeshiva’s cushion to 9-7. Later in the stanza, with Yeshiva nursing an 11-8 benefit, Jakubowitz once again slammed home back-to-back kills to give YU more breathing room at 13-8. After Mount Saint Vincent scored the next point, YU answered to earn a set-point opportunity at 14-9. The Dolphins would not make things easy as they went on a 4-0 run, capped off by back-to-back service aces from senior Danylo Szkafarowsky, to shrink the Macs’ advantage to 14-13. On the next sequence, Goldstein set the ball to Jakubowitz who slammed it down on the court through Mount Saint Vincent’s defense for the kill that clinched YU’s thrilling come-from-behind Skyline victory and led to the Yeshiva fans celebrating with the players on the court.
“Tonight’s result is a testament to the team’s hard work,” Yeshiva University Head Coach Dennis Mente said. “Our defense played a big role in our win. The players worked together and communicated well with each other. This is a much deserved win for all the players.”
For the Maccabees, Aberman had eight digs, three blocks, two kills and a service ace. Senior Avi Braun produced nine digs, while classmate Michael Stark added six digs and an assist. Senior Steven Zelmanovich produced seven digs with two kills, a pair of assists and just as many blocks. Junior Asher Kirshtein had four digs and an assist, while classmate Eliezer Benjamin added a kill and a dig of his own.
For the Dolphins, sophomore Kyle Thompson had a double-double with 22 kills and 16 digs, both match highs.
Yeshiva will take on St. Joseph’s College Long Island, in a Skyline match at the Danzi Center, on Thursday evening. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
